I am a senior undergraduate student at URI, majoring in secondary education and biology. I'm from New Hampshire and love to travel. I spent a semester studying in Hawaii, where I learned to appreciate the environment. This has led me to join sustainability projects on campus with the goal of helping to make URI a greener campus. I've been a tutor for the AEC on campus for three years and I also tutor elementary and middle school students four days a week. I enjoy playing music and sports and grew up playing the piano and accordion, as well as soccer and lacrosse. I spend as much time as I can with friends and family and I'm looking forward to starting my teaching career in the near future!
Unit Plan- Genetics
All organisms on Earth are made up of visible and hidden traits determined by combinations of genes that are inherited from parental organisms. The modern theories of genetics, developed by Gregor Mendel and perfected by many geneticists after his time, explain why each of us has unique characteristics. It is important to understand the patterns in which these genes were passed down to us in order to trace the path of our own genes. The purpose of this unit is to introduce Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, and show how his experiments paved the way for all of the laws of genetics we have today. We will begin with the macroscopic view of genetics and focus on traits that we can see passed down from parents to offspring. We will then zoom in to the microscopic view of genes on chromosomes and discuss the process of meiosis. The main concepts of this unit that will be covered are monohybrid and dihybrid crosses using Punnett squares, the process of meiosis, the inheritance of genetic disorders using pedigrees, and the Human Genome project.
Student Teaching Information
A. First Student Teaching Placement
School: Westerly High School
Address: 23 Ward Avenue, Westerly, RI 02891 Directions from URI
Principal: Paula Fusco
Sci Dept Head/MS Team Leader: Maryjane Utley
Office secretary(s):
Custodian(s):
Who do you call when sick or dying?
What are the phone numbers?
Westerly High School: 401-596-2109
Cooperating Teacher: Julie Malone
B. Second Student Teaching Placement
School: Broad Rock Middle School
Address: 351 Broad Rock Rd, Wakefield, RI 02879 Directions from URI
Principal: Sheila Sullivan
Sci Dept Head/MS Team Leader:
Office secretary(s): Margaret Randall, Nancy Coogan
Custodian(s): Terrie Houston, Dan Scherza, Jason Malenfant, James Patton
Who do you call when sick or dying?
What are the phone numbers?
Broad Rock Middle School: 401-782-6223
Cooperating Teacher: Lynne Arcand
Melissa Wetzel
I am a senior undergraduate student at URI, majoring in secondary education and biology. I'm from New Hampshire and love to travel. I spent a semester studying in Hawaii, where I learned to appreciate the environment. This has led me to join sustainability projects on campus with the goal of helping to make URI a greener campus. I've been a tutor for the AEC on campus for three years and I also tutor elementary and middle school students four days a week. I enjoy playing music and sports and grew up playing the piano and accordion, as well as soccer and lacrosse. I spend as much time as I can with friends and family and I'm looking forward to starting my teaching career in the near future!
Teaching Portfolio
Teaching Rationale/PhilosophyUnit Plan- Genetics
All organisms on Earth are made up of visible and hidden traits determined by combinations of genes that are inherited from parental organisms. The modern theories of genetics, developed by Gregor Mendel and perfected by many geneticists after his time, explain why each of us has unique characteristics. It is important to understand the patterns in which these genes were passed down to us in order to trace the path of our own genes. The purpose of this unit is to introduce Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, and show how his experiments paved the way for all of the laws of genetics we have today. We will begin with the macroscopic view of genetics and focus on traits that we can see passed down from parents to offspring. We will then zoom in to the microscopic view of genes on chromosomes and discuss the process of meiosis. The main concepts of this unit that will be covered are monohybrid and dihybrid crosses using Punnett squares, the process of meiosis, the inheritance of genetic disorders using pedigrees, and the Human Genome project.
Student Teaching Information
A. First Student Teaching Placement
School: Westerly High SchoolAddress: 23 Ward Avenue, Westerly, RI 02891
Directions from URI
Principal: Paula Fusco
Sci Dept Head/MS Team Leader: Maryjane Utley
Office secretary(s):
Custodian(s):
Who do you call when sick or dying?
What are the phone numbers?
Westerly High School: 401-596-2109
Cooperating Teacher: Julie Malone
B. Second Student Teaching Placement
School: Broad Rock Middle SchoolAddress: 351 Broad Rock Rd, Wakefield, RI 02879
Directions from URI
Principal: Sheila Sullivan
Sci Dept Head/MS Team Leader:
Office secretary(s): Margaret Randall, Nancy Coogan
Custodian(s): Terrie Houston, Dan Scherza, Jason Malenfant, James Patton
Who do you call when sick or dying?
What are the phone numbers?
Broad Rock Middle School: 401-782-6223
Cooperating Teacher: Lynne Arcand
Observations and Reflections